A postcard arrived today, from Aunt Moira (dead
since 2010) to my mother, who followed her
in 2012. Eight years late then, and maybe
far more, since Moira, who died in a nursing home,
is up and about, on a holiday in Cornwall:
a forgettable shot of picturesque fishing boats
moored below a mock-Tudor pub, called
The Chain Link. It must have slipped and lain
in that hollow, 'the dead letter place', before someone
unearthed it. The message is what we'd expect,
warm-blooded phrases never designed for more
than love's housekeeping work, its breakfast table:
Dear Sheila, I'm here in Penzance with Paul.
The scenery is out of this world…

Mark Granier’s latest collection is Ghostlight (Salmon, 2017)